Pastor Ingo Rolf Dutzmann

The service will be streamed live

please click the link below to watch

Harpswell, ME – That isn’t thunder you are hearing tonight.  It is a great party going on in Heaven, welcoming one of Earth’s finest. Pastor Ingo Dutzmann left us on January 15, 2022, after taking his last breath in his home in Harpswell, Maine. While we are not meant to question or to understand why these things happen, you can’t help but feel the loss of someone that has touched the lives of so many.

Ingo was born in Braunschweig, Germany on January 11, 1947 to Rolf and Liselotte Dutzmann, immigrated to America in 1951 with his younger sister Marina, with his younger brother Roland being born here in the States, graduated from Utica High School in Michigan in 1965, received his bachelor’s degree from Oakland University (1969) and his master’s degree from Wayne State University (1971), all while serving as the youngest elder at Trinity Lutheran Church and working various student affairs positions at Oakland University. It is at Oakland that he met his match, Daria Manchuk, who stole his heart and agreed to marry him in 1973.  Ingo was pursuing his plan of becoming an attorney, studying at the Detroit College of Law, but God had a very different plan for him, indeed.

Ingo entered Concordia Seminary in 1976, earning his Masters of Divinity in 1980 and Sacred Theology Masters degree in 1987. During this time, he and Daria had four children, Alexander, Allegra, Mercedes and Dominique. After his graduation from seminary, Ingo couldn’t wait to bring his eternal optimism and youthful energy to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world. He preached his way across North America, meeting as many people as he could along the way, performing baptisms, confirmations, communions and weddings, educating, counseling, listening, visiting, feeding, and praying with people from all walks of life. His journey led him to the Senior Pastor position at the First Lutheran Church of Boston in 1997 where he retired in May 2019.

There are not enough pages to list even a fraction of the remarkable things Ingo accomplished in his life, and there is no person as selfless, passionate, and genuine as he was. Not only would he pay a hospital visit in the early a.m. hours after a 14-hour day, regardless of who was requesting his presence, he would be the one to organize a hike up Mt. Washington or Mt. Major in NH several times a year without fail. He selflessly would take time out of a planned family vacation to help wherever he was needed, preaching at places in need, many times places he had never been to or congregations he had never preached at before. There are so many examples of his willingness, or his fierce determination, to serve in any capacity, yet never did this change who he was as a husband, as a father, a pastor, and a friend. Even up to the hour before he passed, he was on his phone calling, texting, and e-mailing those in need, those who needed counsel, those in pain, those who needed a prayer. This is quintessentially and unequivocally who he was as a person.  Anyone who has ever met him was met with a warm smile, a firm handshake, and a business card with an offer for free parking, free lobster or a free meal.

Ingo was the classic “walk-the-talk” kind of guy, daily demonstrating what it means to love and what it means to live. He commanded the pulpit, spoke with brutal honesty about sin, forgiveness, and salvation, and yet, his radiant smile and effortless charm instantly connected him to everyone, believers and non-believers alike. It seems far too soon for Ingo to leave this earthly place and letting go will be hard for many of us. But there is no doubt the angels are in rare form, celebrating his arrival in Heaven.

For those who wish to celebrate with us remaining here on Earth, you are invited to any (or all) of the following events:

Friday January 21, 2022 from 4:00 – 6:00pm EST, visitation at Demers - Desmond Funeral Homes located at 34 Cushing Street, Brunswick, Maine
Saturday, January 22, 2022 from 11:30 -1:30pm EST, visitation at the First Lutheran Church of Boston located at 299 Berkeley Street in Boston, Massachusetts
Saturday, January 22, 2022 at 2pm EST, funeral service at the First Lutheran Church of Boston

In lieu of flowers, donations are welcome at Concordia Seminary, Lutheran Hour Ministries or the Paralyzed Veterans of America 

To share your thoughts and condolences with the family, please visit www.desmondfuneralhomes.com

**Please note, those going to the funeral service in Boston: There will be virtually no parking available at the church itself except for family, church staff and funeral staff. I’d like to recommend people either Uber or take a taxi, though for those seeking parking, they can park in the Boston Common Garage (https://bostoncommongarage.com/). Validation is available for the first 40 cars that park there.  They can also park in the Back Bay Garage (http://www.backbaygarage.com/), which is very close to the church, though no validation is available there.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Pastor Ingo Rolf Dutzmann, please visit our floral store.